Combustion
by Alabaster86
Summary: Zuko and Mai spend some time together in the Earth King's palace. Set just after the fall of Ba Sing Se.  A follow up to 'Illicit'.


A/N: This little thing is a sequel to Illicit. So if you haven't read that, do so, and this will make more sense.

**Combustion**

For the second time in her fifteen years, Mai silently thanked both her _upbringing_; sit and be quiet, don't make a fuss and don't, whatever you do, show any kind of extreme emotion, and her basic nature; cool, calm, sardonic façade hiding a slightly more turbulent emotional life. They made it easy to fool Azula, despite the princess's acuity.

"I still find it interesting that you saw neither Zuko nor Iroh at the Jasmine Dragon, and just a day later, the Water Tribe wench did."

Mai shrugged and took another sip of her tea. "Who knows?" Her emotions smoldered beneath her hard, almost impenetrable exterior.

"I could ask my brother when he began working there." Azula tilted her head and gave Mai an appraising look. She was looking for cracks in the older girl. That's the way it had been with them since their early days together.

Mai would keep everything tucked neatly away inside, each year that went by making her more skilled at the task. And Azula would probe and poke, trying to find her way in. The princess did it not because she was genuinely interested in her 'friend' but because Mai was something to conquer; if she could make the girl crack, she would win. And if she loved nothing else, Azula _loved _to win.

Mai used to blush back when she was eight and nine, whenever Zuko walked by or spoke to her or touched her. But by the time she was ten, she had learned to control those feelings of giddiness and joy that the prince inspired. Oh, she still felt them all right, even more intensely. But she could hide them extremely well and around Azula that was a necessary skill. Any perceived 'weakness'; any sign of real happiness was pounced on by the princess, twisted and manipulated into something ugly. Mai _hated_ her for that, though that feeling was hidden even deeper.

"Yeah, maybe you should," Mai suggested, face and voice completely neutral.

"Humph, no, I don't want to go near him right now. He's all sulky and conflicted and worried about Uncle Loser. You think he'd be happy that he could finally go home after three years. Seriously, I wonder sometimes just how stupid he is. _You _should go see him, Mai. When I mentioned your name, he got all fidgety and red. I'm pretty sure he still has crush on you…too." The final word was deliberately added after a long pause, as if to say, 'don't try to hide it, Mai. I know you love my brother, though why, I'll never understand.'

"No rush," Mai replied, draining her cup and setting it down on the table. "What are a few more minutes after three years anyway?" She leaned back in her chair casually, and slipped one hand up inside her wide green sleeve. She let her fingers caress one of her many blades, taking comfort in the feel of the metal.

"Well, when you decide to go, you'll find loser boy holed up in his room; it's at the end of the hallway we're in, on the opposite side." Azula gave Mai a smirk. "Have fun."

Ty Lee, who had been unusually silent for the past few minutes, couldn't resist giggling. "Oh, I'll bet they will."

After rolling her eyes at the gray-eyed girl, Mai stood up and glided slowly to the door. "Guess now is as good a time as any," she remarked.

"Breakfast tomorrow morning, Mai; don't forget." Azula used that special tone that she reserved for giving orders or reminding people of their station beneath her.

Mai nodded and stepped out into the hallway. It was beautiful, like the rest of the Earth King's palace, but she took no note of anything. All she could think of was Zuko.

* * *

><p>She hesitated before knocking on the door. Why hadn't he come to see her? Was their passionate kiss the other day simply a mistake or was he too overwrought about his Uncle Iroh to give her any thought. That <em>had<em> to be it; Zuko had always taken everything so seriously and brooded and pondered and agonized to excess.

Gathering her courage, Mai raised her hand and put it to the thick wood of the ornately carved door, rapping once, then again. She heard rustling inside, the sound of someone moving about and then an angry shout.

"Get lost, Azula. I don't want to talk to you or see you. Leave me alone!" The prince grunted then as if in frustration and Mai could hear him flop back down on to the bed.

She knocked again, this time calling to Zuko as well. "It's Mai, not Azula."

More rustling, and then the sound of footsteps making their way to the door; he pulled it open slowly and peeked outside, his cheeks already pink with embarrassment or excitement maybe. Mai hoped it was the latter. Her own cheeks coloured faintly.

"Mai," he breathed. "Um," he looked about his room shyly and then opened the door wide. "Come in."

"Hiding someone else in here?" she joked but Zuko failed to see the humor in it.

He gestured to a chair and she sat, feeling like a formal guest of the prince rather than a girl visiting a boy whom she might love. Zuko looked at her and then looked back down at his hands. He picked at his green robes, edged with yellow. Oddly, the colours suited him. "I-I'm glad to see you, Mai. Sorry about not opening the door right away, but Azula's been a real pain."

She shrugged in response. That was a minor thing after all. "So, you can finally go home." Might as well get to the important topics; small talk was a waste of time. She caught Zuko's eyes and held them, looking for clues as to his real feelings inside their depths. What she saw was confusion and guilt, sorrow and a little bit of hope. My, but his eyes really _did _say everything, and much more eloquently than his words ever had.

"Y-yeah," he stammered. "But I'm not sure that I will." The prince seemed almost ashamed and stared down at the rug this time, his eyes seeking out carefully woven Earth Kingdom symbols. "I'm not sure that I deserve to go home. I betrayed my uncle."

Smoothing down a piece of silky ebony hair, Mai thought before speaking. She wanted to choose her words very carefully. Her pale, delicately boned hands sat loosely in her lap, almost swallowed up by the swathes of pretty pale green material that made up her Earth Kingdom garb. "Azula said that he sided with the Avatar, that he's a traitor."

She hadn't chosen her words carefully _enough_. Zuko exploded; his rage and his pain sudden and extreme. "He's_ not_ a traitor. Azula's wrong. Uncle's just, h-he's just, he stuck with me, Mai. He stuck with me for three years and I let him down. I let Azula take him away in chains. He wanted me to choose my own destiny, and I did. And what did it get me? What did it get him?"

Moving from her chair to stand facing Zuko, she put a hand hesitantly on the prince's shoulder. "You did what you felt you had to do. Your Uncle knows that, I'm sure, even if he doesn't agree with what you chose." She wanted to say so much more. She wanted to ease Zuko's pain but the words wouldn't come. Mai settled for moving her hand back and forth on his shoulder and then down his arm.

He leaned into the touch a bit and sighed. "The way he looked at me, Mai, it was terrible. There was such disappointment in his eyes. Uncle thought that I would choose differently, that I should choose differently. Maybe I _should_ have."

"All you wanted was to go home. Azula gave you that chance and you took it. No one could blame you, Zuko. It's been so long." She cupped his cheek, running her thumb along the edge of his scar. He jerked, an involuntary movement, but did not push her hand away. Mai considered that a victory.

"Then why does it all feel so wrong? Why do I feel so damn bad, Mai?"

She could hear the tears in his voice and it was her turn to jerk. The young woman didn't know what to do when people cried. Ty Lee wept more often than most people and such raw displays of emotion always made Mai dreadfully uncomfortable. She took a few deep breaths and composed herself. "I don't know, Zuko." Taking his hand in hers she pulled. "Let's sit on the sofa." Her meaning was clear even to Zuko, clueless about such machinations usually.

The prince did not resist. "All right."

The pair sat together in silence for awhile, but it was a comfortable quiet, with both of them thinking their own thoughts about the other. After a few minutes, Zuko edged a bit closer. His darker green robes just brushed against her lighter ones.

"I could order us some tea, or something to eat," he offered, his voice rough with longing.

"Thanks, but I'm actually not hungry…for once. And I had tea with Azula." She inched over a bit too until their shoulders and thighs touched. "But there are other things that we could do." Her tone was slightly suggestive and though the room was darkening with the descent of the sun, she could see the blazing redness of Zuko's unscarred cheek.

Clearly she would have to make the first move and Mai was all right with that. Turning sideways, she stared at Zuko for a moment before leaning in close and kissing him. This kiss was calmer then their last one and sweeter. Zuko lifted his hands, wanting to touch Mai _somewhere_ with them. They ended up at her waist but inched upwards until they almost touched the undersides of her breasts.

"I like kissing," the prince stated rather dumbly when Mai, in need of air, pulled back. He flushed again and slapped a hand against his forehead. "Agni," he groaned. "I can't believe I said that."

"I like kissing too," Mai agreed with a smirk.

She nestled into his chest then and Zuko wrapped his arms around her tightly. He pressed his nose into her hair, reveling in both its softness and its wonderful smell. "Mmm, what is that, vanilla and almond?"

Mai chuckled this time. "Yeah, do you like the smell?"

"I do," Zuko answered and he snickered a bit himself. But he grew serious suddenly. "It feels so good to hold you, Mai. I never thought that I would. You were so far away and I was, well, I was the banished prince, someone no parent would want their daughter near. This," he held her even closer, "makes it all worthwhile."

Touched by Zuko's sudden confession, Mai felt moisture pool in her eyes. She blinked hard, hoping that the tears wouldn't fall. But one escaped, trailing its way down her cheek. Zuko noticed it glistening in the barely there light and brushed it gently away before kissing the spot where it had been.

"Sap," she said, the word a teasing accusation. But she liked this romantic side of Zuko just fine, thank you very much.

He smiled and kissed her cheek again, then worked his way down to her milky white throat. Neither was certain where things would end, but both were happy to let them run their course, no resistance at all. And when the sun rose, they were still together on the sofa, bodies clothed, but entwined, looks of contentment on both their faces.


End file.
